Best Public Schools in Hazlehurst, MS

Hazlehurst, Mississippi is served by three public schools in the Hazlehurst City School District: Hazlehurst Elementary (PK–5), Hazlehurst Middle School (6–8), and Hazlehurst High School (9–12), with a combined enrollment of 1,320 students. The district ranks 86th out of 134 districts in Mississippi with a 2-star rating, and the schools serve a student population where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Among the three schools, Hazlehurst Middle School is the strongest and most consistent performer, ranking in the 40th percentile with a 2-star rating. It beats the state average in 6th grade math (55.9% vs. 52.7%) and has the district's lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 31.4%. Hazlehurst High School showed the most dramatic turnaround, jumping from the 9th percentile to the 40th percentile in a single year. Biology proficiency reached 69.5%, above the state average of 63.1%, and English II scores improved sharply from 25.2% to 40.4%. However, the high school's graduation rate of 77.3% trails the state average of 89.2%, and 56.9% of students are chronically absent. Hazlehurst Elementary, the largest school, ranks in the 18th percentile and shows mixed results: 5th grade science jumped to 65.6% proficiency, but 3rd grade math sits at just 17%.

Math proficiency is the district's biggest challenge, particularly at the elementary level, where 5th grade math dropped from 46.2% to 20.6% in one year. Science is a relative bright spot across all three schools, with high school Biology exceeding the state average. Chronic absenteeism is dramatically above the state average of 23.9% in every school, and near-universal poverty adds to the difficulty. The high school's ranking improvement is real but fragile, and sustaining progress will likely require addressing attendance and early math intervention.